Quotes on Freedom and the Great American Experiment

Barack Obama

Post navigation

Earlier today we heard the words .. ” I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Sadly, after four years of observing the actions of his first term, I must say those are just words, very empty words.

This country does not need more empty words. It does not need more opinion poll promises. It does not need more Governmental responsibility for the lives of its citizens. For if such things were key to our prosperity we would be living in the golden age of this Republic. But we are not.

What we need is a return to the most simple of beliefs, a return to the core philosophies on which this Republic, and her greatness, were founded.

A return to the beliefs of men like Ronald Wilson Reagan, who not only spoke, but lived these words of freedom:

“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” ~ Ronald Reagan

As a very bitter and divisive 2008 Presidential Election came to a close last night, after a record setting voter turnout, I was moved by the acceptance speech of our new President Elect. In particular the words below that speak of healing and the invocation of the memory of a time more troubled and an even greater division that was mode whole:

“Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends … though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.” – Barack Obama